MLK's 'dream' no closer to reality

Editor's note: Anthony Moretti, a special commentator on current affairs for CGTN, is an associate professor at the Department of Communication and Organizational Leadership at Robert Morris University. The article reflects the author's opinions and not necessarily those of CGTN.

The annual remembrance of Martin Luther King in the United States takes place on January 15 and on what would have been his 95th birthday. But as his life and legacy are considered this year, there is plenty of evidence to suggest America is no closer to realizing King's dream of racial equality.

Consider as just one example that income inequality in the U.S. increased each year from 2007 through 2021. There is no secret to what causes the lengthening financial divide between rich and poor: Americans with healthier incomes have better-paying jobs. They supplement their salary with income from savings, stocks and bonds, and they are likely to own their home. They are also likely to have a health insurance policy for themselves and their families. 

And the wealthiest are doing far better than anyone. One nonprofit organization that tracks such data summarized the situation this way: "Between 1979 and 2020, the average income of the richest 0.01 percent of households, a group that today represents about 12,000 households, grew 17 times as fast as the income of the bottom 20 percent of earners." To no one's surprise, roughly 90 percent of the super-wealthy are White.

Yes, income differences are especially noteworthy when ethnicity is considered. According to one estimate, in 2022, the median annual income for White families was roughly $82,000, approximately $63,000 for Hispanic families and close to $53,000 for Black families. The differences in just one year might not seem that dramatic, but now project them out over a decade. In approximately 10 years, a typical White family will have earned $820,000 while the typical Black family would be trailing badly at just $530,000. 

Put it all together and White Americans are far better prepared for the proverbial rainy day – those times when a family needs to tap into savings in order to pay for an unexpected emergency. They also have disposable income that allows for additional educational opportunities for their children or for something as simple as the family vacation. 

Income inequality tells one piece of the story. The more pernicious aspect: racism. Human Rights Watch has been especially critical of the United States, noting problems when it comes to "reparative justice; discrimination in the U.S. criminal legal system; use of force by law enforcement officials; discrimination in the regulation and enforcement of migration control; and stark disparities in the areas of economic opportunity and health care. Structural racism and xenophobia persist as powerful and pervasive forces in American society."

You need not look hard to find a Black American who has suffered from overt racism or from what is now recognized as microaggression, which one expert defined as everyday interactions or behaviors that communicate some sort of bias toward historically marginalized groups. One example: A White person and a Black person are walking toward each other on the same side of the street when the White person opts to cross the street. The microaggression? The presumption that a Black person is dangerous. Closely related, notice when a store owner or an employee follows a Black person around. The microaggression? The belief that the Black person is going to steal something.

One would think that healthcare professionals would look past the color of someone's skin as they cared for that individual. Think again. A recent Kaiser Family Foundation report stated that "six-in-10 (60 percent) Black adults, about half of American Indian and Alaskan Native adults (52 percent), half of Hispanic (51 percent) adults, and four-in-10 (42 percent) Asian adults say they prepare for possible insults from providers or staff and/or feel they must be very careful about their appearance to be treated fairly during health care visits at least some of the time."

Think about the words you just read: Non-Whites recognize that when they are at their most vulnerable – when a health condition is afflicting them – that they are in danger of not being taken seriously by a medical professional at the time they most need that person's assistance.

As non-Whites deal with such realities of life in 21st century America, they also must fight to retain the most fundamental right of any U.S. citizen: the right to vote. Let's consider Black voters only for just a moment. They are expected to make up approximately 14 percent of the electorate this year, and history suggests they will continue to overwhelmingly support Democratic candidates. Knowing this, Republican-led attempts to make it harder for Blacks to vote are evident. Such efforts include limiting voting by mail, deleting voter rolls and demanding voters show proof of identification. 

In addition, to make it harder for Blacks to be elected, districts are gerrymandered so that Black votes are either deliberately packed are split among voting districts. 

Therefore, in January 2024 – almost 61 years after King delivered his famous "I Have a Dream" speech – Black (and Brown) Americans continue to earn less than White Americans, suffer from racist attitudes in ways big and small, and struggle ever more to ensure that hard-earned civil rights victories are not taken away. 

This is no dream. But it does resemble a nightmare.

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